When teaching chemistry, I always give the students an opportunity to research one specific element in depth and then create some sort of report on it. This allows them to apply their knowledge of electrons, protons, and neutrons and the periodic table in a project. In the past I have had students make posters, flipbooks, skits, ect... but after seeing FakeBook I realized that my students could use their knowledge, something that they are familiar with, and their humor to create a unique project about their assigned element. This year my students will create a FakeBook page about their element that displays information (year it was discovered, atomic number, atomic mass, ect...) in a fun and creative way.

Click on the link above and start entering information. This site takes you through the process of how to create your page. Once you are finished click "Save" and you will be asked to enter a password. You will also have to save the link to your customized "Fakebook Page" so you can access it in the future. I reccomend using a bookmarking site such as delicious. If you are having your students create a Fakebook you could add a comment section to your personal website and have them copy and paste their url link there. Pros: - Students will not need to create an account or have an e-mail address to use this tool. - You can continue to add information and new posts throughout the year. - You can embed the Fakebook page into a blog or website. Cons: - When you use the "Autoselect from Websearch" feature to add and upload pictures the images are not filtered. I would reccommend you have students upload their own images. - Although this is an educational site it is not very well regulated. Students can look at any Fakebook page that has been created. Innapropriate pages are rare but they do exist.

In science sometimes it is hard to do inquiry-based labs with concepts that are either too small to see or that are not visible. Online simulations can give students the chance to view and interact with models of these ideas and concepts and interpret them in their own way. I use many online simulations to create inquiry-based labs for my students that would otherwise be impossible. One example is shown below. Students play with the frequency and amplitude of sound waves. They try to figure out how frequency and amplitude changes sound. We then discuss our results as a whole class and analyze our results.

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Pros: - There are many simulations based on various topics such as physics, biology, chemistry, ect... - There are teacher guides to go along with simulations - There are often games that can be played with the sims and students love to just "play" if they finish earlyCons: -If you do not have a 1-1 environment or a computer lab to use it may be difficult to use as an inquiry-based lab

Every year I have at least one big project where students research a subject and create a presentation to show the rest of the class. The biggest problem is that students are sick of using PowerPoint! While PowerPoint is useful at times, I want to show my students there are other options for presentations. Mixbook is a free, online tool that allows you to create an online scrapbook. Students love it because they feel like they can customize the presentation more and they say that it is easier for them to use.

Pros: - Adding pictures and text is "easier" than in PowerPoint - Presentation can be embedded into a website/blog

Cons: - You need an e-mail to create an account - Some backgrounds and stickers cost money

QR Codes For Research

I always encourage my students to ask good questions in science which is why we have our "Random Science Questions" that we answer every week. As a homework assignment I have my students research one of these questions and create a poster. To make this activity more interactive I show my students how to use goo.gl to create QR Codes. The QR code can link to a video, image, or website. We then hang these up in the hallway. It's great to see students stop in the halls to review what their peers have done and interact with the technology by using their smartphones. They use the information on a website I created to complete their assignment (www.rewerts1.weebly.com).

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